EA June 2012

Irish literary legend Oscar Wilde once quipped how the only thing worse than being talked about was not being talked about. As feverish speculation continues to dominate the airwaves about the collapse of the euro and perhaps even the European Union under the weight of mounting debts, the truth of Wilde’s adage is becoming evident. Responding to the pressing need to create more jobs and growth in order to find a way out of the crisis, transatlantic leaders have given a green light to exploratory talks for an EU-US Free Trade Agreement, which would establish, among other things, a tariff free zone encompassing the two largest economies on the globe.

Mosettig, a member of the Board of Advisors of the European Institute’s European Affairs, recently visited the UK.

As good hosts and hostesses know, a summer of parties eventually comes to an end. But as London and Britain glide from the Queen's Jubilee to the Olympics, the reaction is: please, not quite yet.

The Union Jacks and bunting were just coming down and saturation news coverage barely subsiding for the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne, before it was revving up all over again for the Olympics.